HMInt

1: Mirror Of Deception isn't a good well-known band in Hungary! Talk about the history of the band, please!

Mirror of Deception was formed by Siffi (guitar) and me (also guitar) in September 1990. It took us until spring 1992 to get a full line-up together. We have recorded 3 official demos, some rehearsals and a mini-CD entitled "Veil of Lead". The "Mirrorsoil" album was originally meant to be released in early 1998, but due to a lot of bad luck it took us until January 2001 to get it finished and officially released. Playing live has always been just as (or even more) important as recording, so we've played with a lot of different bands thoughout the years, Count Raven, Unorthodox, Solstice, The Lord Weird Slough Feg, Warning being some of the most prominent ones. Most concerts took place in Germany, but we've played in Austria and England too and we hope to play in more countries in the future. Hopefully Hungary one day!

2: Are you contented with your first album, Mirrorsoil? I think, the music is great, but the the sound isn't perfect.

We're still very happy with the songs. They have stood the test of time, we still love them all. We're not 100 % satisfied with the overall sound, it lacks a bit of bass frequencies. I agree on that, but it's definitely listenable! We love the sound of classic doom bands like Candlemass or Solitude Aeturnus and they've always had a rather clear sound too. But we'll record the second album in a different studio next time and that will for sure secure us a much heavier and fatter sound.

3: How much fanatic has Mirror Of Deception got?

I don't know really, but we have people from all over the world writing or e-mailing us. We have a bit of a fanbase here in Germany meanwhile and we get a good response from Doom Metal freaks in the USA recently, which might be due to the second "I Am Vengeance" movie trailer which comes with one of our songs ("Dreams of Misery") from the "Mirrorsoil" album. After all the worldwide Doom community gave us a very warm "welcome back" after it has been pretty silent around us for some years. 2001 has been the definitely best and most successful year so far in the history of the band.

4:What was the best and the worst Mirror Of Deception concert and why?

Very difficult question as there were quite a few best and worst concerts throughout the years. I can't really name any single shows as the ultimate best or worst. Highlights were our shows with Count Raven, Jack Frost, Solstice and the "Doom in Bloom" festival a few years ago. It always depends on the mood we're in and on the audience. But we try to give our best at every concert. Sometimes you have concerts where something is just wrong - the vibe simply isn't there or there are technical problems. One of our worst gigs ever was in Recklinghausen, Germany during our recent tour with End of Green. It just didn't work that night. The audience was really cool, but the sound on stage was really shitty, we couldn't hear ourselves and it turned worse and worse with every song. Very frustrating! On the same tour (only 3 days later) we had one of our best shows ever in a town called Spremberg. We had only 5 people watching us when we went on stage but we were really relaxed, in a very good mood and just made a big party out of the whole show. End of Green were screaming, banging and cheering us up and we did the same when they played. In the end we had about 30 people there and some told us that this was a very special concert for them.

5: What are the plans of the band in the near future?

We will record our second album around autumn 2002. We have on mind to record some songs for a possible 7" vinyl single or maybe a split LP or CD wth another band this spring. Nothing is 100 % decided yet though, so I don't know if that works out as planned. Apart from that we are always looking for more gigs and we have just been confirmed for the Summer Breeze open air festival (www.summer-breeze.de) in August 2002.

6: I think, Germany is an Epic Doom Metal country. There are a lot of bands, for example Well Of Souls, Dawn Of Winter, or You. What's your opinion about this bands? Why hasn't other countrys any Epic Doom Metal Band, and why has Germany so much?

I love them all!! There are even more German bands in the epic vein: Cold Embrace (www.coldembrace.de), Wytchcraft (www.wytchcraft.de) and December Dawn. Watch out for them! Other great and highly recommended Doom bands are Dreaming (http://members.tripod.de/dreaming), Subversion (http://www.daredevil.de/subversion/index.html), Weed in the Head, Grief of God (http://buerger.metropolis.de/grief_of_god/) and VoodooShock (www.voodooshock.de). Germany has a really healthy, vivid and strong (nevertheless largely overlooked) Doom scene compared to many other countries and we are very proud to be part of it. We are good friends with most of these bands and we are almost like a big family. No competition - only respect for each other's music and friendship. I just wish we could all meet more frequently and organize a festival with all these bands like we did a few years ago with the "Doom in Bloom" festival. I have really no idea why the rather epic bands actually sort of "concentrate" here in Germany. I can only speak for ourselves: the epic music of Candlemass has always been a bigger inspiration than for example Black Sabbath for us. But America has quite a few good epic Doom bands too - just think about Solitude Aeturnus, While Heaven Wept, Icefall, Last Chapter, Purgation, OverSoul or Well of Souls (Texas).

7: What do you think about other Doom metal bands, for example Cathedral, OverSoul, Memory Garden or Thunderstorm? What are your favourite Doom metal bands?

Every band within this genre is doing their own thing, has an own identity and spirit and a different approach towards Doom and that's what keeps it so interesting. That's also something I personally can't find in other genres like Power, Death or Black Metal that much. Some of my fave bands are Candlemass, Solstice, Saint Vitus, Revelation, Pentagram, Count Raven and While Heaven Wept. I like some Cathedral stuff but not everything they have ever released. I still appreciate everything they (especially Lee Dorian) have done for the whole Doom movement throughout the years. Memory Garden is a good band, my fave album is still the "Tides" one. The newer stuff is at times a bit too technical for my personal taste. Thunderstorm are great and very nice people. We will play some concerts with them in 2002. I'm really looking forward to that! OverSoul is another brilliant newer band. I love what Dennis Cornelius (singer/ guitarist) did in Revelation! I was a bit disappointed about Cor (the first name of OverSoul under which they released 1 or 2 demos), but the "Seven Days in November" CD is a real classic! Apart from that I'm not that much into Doom Death or all that Gothic Metal stuff which is often labelled Doom these days.

8: What does "Doom" mean, for you? I think, it isn't just a metal style. Is it a life style, an LOVE all through your life.

Doom is my destiny and my determination. It has changed my life. When I first got in touch with this style (back in 1988) I knew that this was the music I was always searching for. To me it means strength, hope, consolation, dreams, truth, honesty, dedication, self expression, art, my musical and spiritual home and it goes far beyond plain music. It's hard to describe it in a few words but it goes very deep and I'm sure you Hajas understand what I am trying to tell.

9: What do you think about the break up of the Mood? I know, that you loved their music.

It's a very, very sad thing but I'm sure they must have had their reasons to put an end to Mood. I can imagine it was no easy decision for them. I have only heard "Volume One" and "Wombocosmic" so far and I love these albums very much. Mark Hegedus (Psychedlic 'zine editor) has promised to get me the new album and I'm looking forward to that. Hopefully they are just taking a break now and will reform one day. I'm sure they will feel the fire burning again at one point.

10: What do you know about Hungary?

Hungary is a great country! I actually doubt that Mirror of Deception would exist without Hungary! Siffi and me used to live in nearby towns here in the south of Germany but we actually got to know each other during a holiday in Siofók in August 1990. We found out that we were into similar bands and decided to form a band. Unfortunately I haven't made it back to Hungary since then but I hope in the not to distant future I will visit your beautiful country again and hopefully one day also together with the band! Apart from that I think about great wine, Szalon Sör & Langos (this combination safed our lives after the 20 hour train trip to Siofók), beautiful girls, the city of Budapest, Balaton and some great and unique bands like Mood, Convoy, Tormentor and Pokolgep.

11: What are your favourite 5 albums?

My favourite alltime albums are:

Candlemass - Tales Of Creation
Bathory - Twilight Of The Gods
Garmarna - Guds Spelemän
Human Drama - The World Inside
Saint Vitus - V

But of course the list is very incomplete but these are the albums I would take to a lonely island with me.

12: What are the most important things in your life?

My girlfriend Suzana, my friends, the band, music in general.and Doom Metal in particular...

13: What do you work?

Nothing exciting - I'm working in the customer support for a software company.

14: What' s your message to the heavymetal.hu's readers?

Thanks for your attention! I guess our album is hard to get in Hungary, but take a look on our homepage (www.mirrorofdeception.com) and check out some MP3s there if you feel we could be something for you. DOOM METAL LIVES!!